Parker Messick’s strong start against Dodgers shows how good he can be for Guardians

Last night Parker Messick took the mound against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his season debut. While he would have had his work cut for him even if he had made his debut in Cleveland’s season-opening series against the Mariners, he got the toughest assignment of the Guardians starters by going against the defending world champions. 

But it seems like someone forgot to tell Messick that he should’ve been overwhelmed, as the 25-year-old turned in six scoreless innings in Cleveland’s 4-2 win. 

Guardians’ Parker Messick made the Dodgers look foolish in his season debut 

While Messick doesn’t boast an incredibly overpowering arsenal, he’s an incredibly crafty pitcher who never seems afraid of the moment. That said, his fastball topped out at 95.5 miles per hour, which was nearly three mph faster than his average fastball from 2026. 

“What an outstanding outing that was,” manager Stephen Vogt said, per MLB.com’s Jacob Gurvis. “It just felt like he was in control the whole time, stayed smooth, executed pitches, got quick outs. Pitch count was really low; he was working efficiently. He did his job and then some tonight.”

That efficiency has been Messick’s calling card since he made his debut last season, as he went 5+ innings in six of his seven regular starts. 

He opened eyes in the organization at the end of August when he tossed seven scoreless innings against the Rays in his second career start, and he carried that over into the final month of the season sans a dud against the Red Sox. 

But it’s one thing to do that against a Rays team that was playing out the string; it’s another thing to do it against a fresh and healthy Dodgers team. 

Messick showed off his varied pitch arsenal by throwing all six of his pitches, and he was able to get four whiffs with his changeup, which is quickly becoming his best pitch. He also got better as the game got on, and finished his outing with back-to-back strikeouts of Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker — both of which came with his changeup. 

“...[I] just really tried to control emotions, execute the game plan and take it one pitch at a time. There’s a dangerous hitter one through nine in that lineup, so you just really have to execute every pitch,” Messick said, per Gurvis. 

Messick’s start also provided the Guardians’ rotation with some stability after a bit of an up-and-down opening series against the Mariners.

Tanner Bibee was tracking to have a solid start before he was pulled due to left shoulder inflammation, while Gavin Williams went five innings but allowed an MLB-leading six walks. Slade Cecconi and Joey Cantillo failed to make it to the fifth inning. 

The Guardians bullpen was able to pick up the slack after those suboptimal starts, but that’s an unsustainable formula for winning. This iteration of the Guardians is at its best when its getting shutdown starts from its rotation, and Messick provided them with their first one of the year.